A Strange Turn of Events

As scheduled, the Geek Squad guys made another trip to our house to work on the television. This time two guys came, neither of whom were there for the first visit. My wife turned on the television and before too long the picture froze and turned to bright orange streaks. Both guys were left scratching their heads as to why or how a replaced power supply could effect the screen in such a way. They thought the issue had to be in the display and not the power supply.

This didn’t make a ton of sense to me since the issue with the screen began within seconds of replacing the power supply in the last visit. Also, replacing the display would mean that the TV would then be made of at least 50% replacement parts, and that just didn’t seem right for a set that is only 8 months old.

Luckily , the guys had just come from another house where they worked on a television identical to mine. Coincidentally, that television also had the exact same buzzing issues with the power supply and needed a replacement board as well. They had put a brand new power supply in the other television only to have the buzzing start back up and having to take it back out. However, by plugging in the new buzzing power supply from the other TV into mine, we could determine if the problem really was in my power supply or in my display. In other words, if we plugged in this other power supply and the display didn’t act up, then we know the problem is in the power supply and not the display.

So the repair guy plugged it in and everything seemed fine with the screen. The strange thing is that this power supply did not buzz once it was plugged into my television like it did in the other one. That being the case, the guys assured me that it was a new part and recommended that we leave it in there for the time being. They said they would leave the ticket open for now and I should report back to them and see how it goes.

In the end, the repair guy also gave me his direct number so I could just call him if something goes wrong and they said they would email me some sort of ticket for the work done. To be honest, I’m a little skeptical of the whole situation, but still hoping for the best.

Good News / Bad News

Early Wednesday morning I received a call from the Geek Squad repairman that was coming later that day to work on the television. He was even nice enough to agree to call me 15 minutes before heading to my house to give me enough time to drive home from work to meet him. He mentioned that he had dealt with the same problem on the same television the day before and had called Samsung to ask about the issue. He said that Samsung was aware of the problem and that it was almost certainly an issue with the power supply board. He said that often the buzzing issue will return after the power supply is replaced because a lot of the replacement boards have the same issue as the one that shipped in the TV, but you just have to keep replacing the part until you finally get one that does not buzz. Once you find a good one, the problem should be solved.

I met him at my house around 2:00 and helped him take the set off the wall. He took the back off the television and replaced the power supply. I was amazed that there are only 3 main parts in the back of the set. It seemed pretty simple and luckily the buzzing issue went away. However, once the TV was mounted back onto the wall the picture began to freeze and streaks of bright yellow and orange would begin to appear on the screen. Neither of us knew quite what to make of it, but he figured that a connection in the power supply board wasn’t completely seated. We took it back down and he reseated the connections. He stuck around for 30 minutes to make sure this fixed the problem while wrote up a ticket for the job. After that, everything seemed fine and he took off. He was a great guy and genuinely interested in making sure the job was done right.

Unfortunately, the problem came back the next day. I’ve noticed that just after the television is turned on in the morning, there are some small popping noises as it warms up. Shortly thereafter, the picture freezes and turns to bright orange streaks. While this is happening there is also some slight audio distortion. Often, after about 5 minutes, the picture will return to normal for a while, but it usually happens throughout the day.

Hopefully there is simply an issue with the connections and the problem can be easily fixed. I’ll call the Geek Squad back today and see how it goes.

Confirmation

Today I received my confirmation email from the Geek Squad for the scheduled repairs on my television. I did have a couple of questions about how they deal with Samsung. Specifically, I wanted to know if my repairs with Geek Squad would create some sort of documented record with Samsung just in case the buzzing turns out to be an ongoing issue and I need to replace or further repair the television down the road. Normally I wouldn’t be worrying this far ahead, but a couple of similar stories I’ve read were a little concerning and I wanted to be on the safe side.

I gave the Geek Squad a call and spoke with an agent. She was very helpful and assured me that having them do the repairs was similar to calling Samsung and having them contract out the repairs. She also said that Samsung would have a record of the repair and all of my information once they are billed for the first Geek Squad visit on the 20th. She also stated that any “ongoing repairs” would be covered by the warranty, even if they drag on past the end of the one year period. It appears that “ongoing” is defined as anything within 30-60 days of the previous repair. That being the case, she said it was important that I let them know right away if the problem isn’t fixed. In the event that the problem is deemed unfixable, then I would need to contact Samsung about a replacement. She said they would weigh the cost of fixing it and how many repair issues I’ve endured with how much a comparable television would cost the company. Again, I hope it never comes to that and this new power supply fixes everything.

She also noted that it is helpful to unplug LED televisions once in a while. Amongst other things, this apparently allows the television to reset itself and keeps the motherboard in good shape. She wished that they told people this when they sold them the television. I think I’ll start doing this more often. It sounds like good advice.

The Buzz Is Back

I got home from work today to find that the buzz has returned with a vengeance. This time there are even some extra little electrical glitches thrown into the mix. I hope that replacing the power supply does the trick. The Geek Squad show up to fix it in 9 days.

Power Supply Replacement

Today I followed the advice of Best Buy and called the Geek Squad to setup an appointment to get my television diagnosed. Eventually, she was able to open a case for me by using a number from my receipt and she was also able to issue a work order number. After I gave her the serial number for my particular television, she was able to connect me with a tech guy to set up my in-home visit. On two occasions my iPhone dropped the call, but she quickly called me right back. She was super nice to speak with.

Once on the phone with the tech person, I was able to describe the particular buzzing noise coming from the back of my television. He was able to tell me right away that there are only two things that could cause this problem with the television. One is a faulty power supply problem that deals with the coils inside the television. The other possibility was a problem with the main board and dealt with the audio.

Since the problem persists when the television has no volume, as seen in my first video, the tech guy was able to assure me that the issue with my television was in the power supply. He ordered the parts needed to replace the entire power supply in my television and scheduled a repair person to come to our home on October 20th, between 12:00 and 4:00 PM. I asked if they should come out and diagnose it first, but he was confident that it was a power supply issue. He assured me that this repair was covered under the Samsung manufacturer’s warranty and was of no cost to me. He also assured me that they were approved by Samsung to perform the work in question.

It should be noted that the tech guy was unable to see any of the videos on this blog while we were talking. I was able to email him the link while we were on the phone, but his internet wasn’t working properly at the time. He was also nice to speak with.

Some Reason for Concern

Once I found the actual model number of my television, I decided to do a little digging for buzzing issues with this particular model. Not surprisingly, a Google Search revealed that this was, in fact, a common issue with the Samsung UN40B6000. As I browsed the search results I came across the blog of Morgan Davis whose problem seems eerily similar to what is happening with my television right now. The main difference being that his television was a Samsung UN55B8000. In the end, he was able to get a replacement set, which is good news. The bad news is that the entire ordeal took 4 months! My one year warranty runs out exactly 4 months from tomorrow. If I were to end up in the same situation, I would assume that Samsung would replace the television given that the issue is first occurring 4 months prior to the end of the warranty.

Go Figure

For the past several days the buzzing noise coming from our television has made it more or less unwatchable. So yesterday I did a little homework and set out to talk to a few professionals to figure out what I should do. After getting some advice from the good folks at Best Buy, I was ready to call the Geek Squad and Samsung today and get things moving along. Sure enough, when I tested the television this morning the buzz was significantly quieter. It hasn’t gone away, just not as loud. I’d like to wait until noise is back at full volume before calling in the Geek Squad and reporting the issue to Samsung as advised.

Double-Checking

I wanted to check with someone else at Best Buy or Geek Squad to make sure my plan of action was the right way to go. I tweeted @twelpforce and @geeksquadhelp and sent them a link. I received a reply from @Coral_BestBuy stating that I should give Geek Squad a call and that they only charge if the issue isn’t covered by the warranty. It should also be noted that I received these replies sometime after midnight on a Sunday! Pretty impressive and definitely reassuring. Coral is great and really seems to know her stuff.

First Things First

This afternoon I decided to start this process by going back to the Best Buy store where the television was originally purchased. I wanted to see if they could fix or replace it themselves or give me some advice on how best to approach this entire process.

I ended up speaking with a nice guy in the Magnolia Home Theater department. I showed him the video of the television buzzing and talked a bit about the Samsung manufacturer’s warranty. After hearing my story, he was able to recommend a plan of action.

He said the best thing to do was call the Geek Squad and set up an appointment to diagnose the issue. He explained that I would be charged $100 for the visit, but that the Geek Squad guys could determine whether or not the problem is assembly or defect and covered by the Samsung manufacturer’s warranty. He also assured me that the Geek Squad were approved by Samsung to perform the services in question.

Should they find that the issue is, in fact, a result of assembly or defect then the Geek Squad would refund my $100 charge for the first visit and begin charging Samsung for that and all following visits to repair the television. He also told me that Best Buy would then start dealing directly with customer service at Samsung on my behalf until the issue is resolved.

After reading several accounts of lingering repair nightmares online, I made sure to ask the sales associate at Best Buy what I should do if the repairs go on and on without resolving the buzzing issue. He said that I should enquire about Samsung’s replacement policy should this occur. I also made sure to ask what should happen if the repairs drag on past the end of the warranty, even though the problem began eight months after purchase. I don’t want to pay for repairs or a replacement television due to an issue that occurred while under warranty. He thought that they would cover repairs in this situation and that it was normally in their best interest to do so.

In the end, he said I should call Samsung now and make them aware of the issue I’m having, as well as, my planned course of action with Best Buy and the Geek Squad. He also stressed that I should get a case number and carefully document the conversations. Tomorrow I plan to attempt to contact Samsung through their 1-800 telephone number.


View Larger Map

Model Number, Receipt and Manufacturer's Warranty

It appears that the television is covered under the Samsung manufacturer's warranty until 2/12/11, one year from the date of purchase.

And So It Begins

In early Spring 2010, my wife and I decided to cash in some gift cards from the Holidays and splurge on a fancy new television. Our previous television was this giant boxy thing from the mid-90s that weighed in at close to 100 pounds.

After shopping around a bit, we finally settled on a Samsung. It is the super thin one that mounts one the wall so nicely. It was a massive upgrade from our old set, and way more than we would normally spend on a television. For a few months things were great. The picture was amazing, the sound was good. It was, by far, the best TV either of us had ever owned.

Then, on October 6th at 8:15 PM, it started making a loud buzzing noise. At first this would only happen about every other time we turned it on, but now the buzz is nonstop. It has gotten so loud that the television is unwatchable no matter how loud we turn up the volume. The noise is clearly coming from the back of the TV and seems worse when something bright is on the screen.

Earlier today I started looking online for how we might best resolve the matter. Immediately, I found that this seems to be a common issue with many Samsung televisions.

Like everyone else, I’ve had a few less than amazing experiences with the customer service departments of large corporations, and a quick search led me to believe that this could turn out to be one of those times. A few reviews have even stated that the company involved may have trouble properly documenting the case as it progresses. I hope none of this is true and that everything turns out fine.  I'm sure these are good people who just have a lot on their plate. I also realize that most people only write customer service reviews when they are upset.

The purpose of this blog is to objectively document every step of the process as I attempt to resolve this matter. I thought it might be a useful way for all parties involved to stay up to date as things unfold.